


Out

by necrosweater



Series: Human Troubles, Modern Times [1]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 3
Genre: Angst, Beginning of Fallout 3, Betrayal, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Lone Wanderer is a Big Ol Gay, Minor Character Death, One Shot, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-17
Updated: 2019-09-17
Packaged: 2020-10-20 06:38:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20670944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/necrosweater/pseuds/necrosweater
Summary: They say the journey of a lifetime starts with a single step, and Babs has started hers on the wrong foot.





	Out

“Jonas cried while we beat him, did you know that?”

The taunt stops Babs in her tracks, blood running cold.

She’d been trying to get out of the vault with as little conflict as possible, taking any non-essentials from the empty rooms along the way and shoving them in her pack, but trying to spare the rest of the dwellers the chaos she was throwing herself into. She’d promised Amata that she wouldn’t harm any of the guards, made her keep the gun she’d offered, even — she was good enough at sneaking around after curfew that she hadn’t thought she’d need it, and Amata was probably going to need it more, anyway. It hadn’t been all that hard, up to now. She’d even killed off any of the roaches in her path, and saved Butch’s lush of a mom. But that barb, that _provocation_; Babs couldn’t let this one slide. They were going to pay.

She walks, slowly around the corner, the baseball cap Stanley had given her for her tenth birthday party angled low over her eyes, matching bat in her hand. “Ha, finally stopped running, little girl?” Officer Mack is as smug as ever, his mocking voice all too similar to his brother’s. She’s never liked either of them. Chief Hannon is a few steps behind, out of breath. She feels a little bad, because despite her dislike of Wally, she’s never had any particular animosity toward the younger Paul. None of the Tunnel Snakes were ever _too_ awful to her. “Jonas ran too, until I caught him in the back of the head with his own coffee mug. Then he went down hard, and he cried hard, until we kicked him enough times he stopped breathing.”

Babs doesn’t cry. She doesn’t let herself. She doesn’t actually let herself feel anything, nothing but the satisfying connection of the baseball bat against Officer Mack’s uniform helmet. The visor shatters under the aluminum, and she swings again, cracking the man in the eyes, baring her teeth in a grim smile as she feels something give way, and he screams, likely from the glass being pressed into his eyes. Hannon gets a whack in on her arm, throwing her off balance and forcing her to the wall, billy club at her throat. She can still hear his partner whimpering, the weakness a sharp contrast to his confidence earlier. 

“Oh, you are going to regret that, little girl,” Chief Hannon growls, pressing the club down on her windpipe. It _hurts._ “Do you hear me?” Babs kicks out, weakly, her legs not quite strong enough to do any damage, scrabbling ineffectively at the club at her neck. She tries to talk back, mouthing off like she usually would have when she got caught scrapping with the man’s son, but her mouth won’t make any noise other than an ugly, painful wheeze. “What, cat got your tongue?” Hannon eases off her throat, and she takes an involuntary gasp, vision swirling a bit at the corners as her brain starts working a little bit better again. 

“Fuck you, fuck the Overseer, and fuck the vault,” she croaks, feeling a bit like she’d swallowed some of the broken glass from Mack’s visor. She feels a burst of pain at the base of her skull as her assailant smashes her head into the wall, knocking her cap off of her head. She can taste blood, and feels her vision start to swim as he slowly starts cutting off her air supply again. She laughs, lightheaded, and spits bloody saliva at his face, seeing it spatter against his helmet visor. Her head meets the wall again, and for some reason it sounds like a gunshot. 

Chief Hannon’s club drops as he turns around, and Babs slides to the floor, eyes half-lidded. 

“Leave her alone, Hannon.” That voice... it sounds like Amata? 

“What are you going to do, ?” Hannon spits, “Do you really think I believe you’ll shoot me? What would Daddy thi—“ his words are cut off by the sound of the gun, which echoes too loudly in Babs’ ears. 

When the ringing stops, the only sounds in the hallway are the continued whines of Officer Mack, and quick footsteps rushing towards her. She feels a hand on her cheek, another on her shoulder.

“Babs? Hey, Barbara, come on, you gotta stay awake—“ the hand on her cheek smacks her gently, prompting her to open her eyes (when had she closed them?) “Stay with me here, Babs.”

“Amata? I—” her quiet words are cut off by a harsh cough. “I was just dreaming about you.”

”You already used that one today,” Amata laughs, her voice tinged with worry. “Come on, you’ve got to get up. I took out Hannon, but the rest of the guards are probably on their way, it’s not safe here.” She helps Babs up from where she’d come to rest against the wall, picking up her cap, and plopping it back onto her head. “I can’t believe my dad is doing this, we need to get you out, okay?” Amata ushers her quickly into the next room, where a giant gear-shaped door sits against the opposite wall, and uses her Pip-Boy to activate the door. The flashing of the lights and the sound from the alarm is so, so hard on her head. 

The two stumble through the hole left in the wall, to a rocky corridor ending in a rickety door, with sunlight— _real sunlight_— shining through. 

“I brought you this, it’s not a lot, but there’s water, and as many Stimpaks as I could find, and some ration bars. Oh, I hope it’s enough...”

“Amata, you... you saved me! Hannon was going to kill me, he— he had his club against my throat, I couldn’t breathe, I—“ Amata cuts her off with a finger to her lips, and Babs takes a breath, her swimming vision locking onto her best friend’s face. The air suddenly seems charged between them, and Babs moves forward without thinking, her split lips softly meeting those of Amata’s. Her hands come up to rest on her cheeks, and she presses her forehead to her friend’s —she can hear Butch taunting her _ What is she, your girlfriend? I should have known._— opening her eyes slowly, suddenly more afraid than she had been with the club to her neck.  
“Oh... Barbara.” Amata’s voice is so quiet, Babs isn’t sure what to do.

“I-I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that, I’m so—“

“Babs,” Amata interrupts. There’s blood on her face, smeared from the split in Babs’ lip. “It’s okay. It’s okay.” 

Babs starts to laugh, soundlessly, breathlessly. She’d just kissed her best friend. She’d _kissed_ her _best friend_, and it was _okay_. Tears well up in her eyes, and Amata reaches up gently to wipe them away. 

“It’s okay.”

“Come with me, Amata,” she whispers, voice hoarse. “Come with me, please. I can’t make it without you.”

“I’m...” it’s Amata’s turn to tear up, her voice cracking. “I’m so, so sorry Babs. I can’t. You know I can’t. The vault needs me, my Dad needs me. I have no idea what he would do if I disappeared.” She puts her finger back at Babs’ lips, stopping her rebuttal before it can even start. “I know. I’m going to miss you so, so much. But I can’t just abandon the vault after all this. Someone has to be here to clean up, and that someone is going to have to be me. I’m sorry, Babs.”

Amata’s eyes harden, and she grabs the pack she’d brought with her before, pushing it into Babs’ hands, along with her baseball bat, and the 10mm pistol she’d offered before. Babs takes them numbly, unable to form any thoughts or words. She opens and closes her mouth a few times before closing her eyes and looking down at her feet, blinking back tears. Her best friend doesn’t reach out to wipe them away this time. 

“You can’t stay here, my dad will have them _kill you_. There’s a town, a little ways out the door. I read about it on the terminal in my dad’s office before I came down. Go there. _Live_, Babs. Don’t come back.” She turns, and walks away, as if she’s not Babs’ whole world leaving her. 

Babs watches the hole in the wall for what feels like hours, and she doesn’t return. It’s only when the light stops shining through the cracks in the door that she realizes she hasn’t moved, and she bends down to pick up her things and leaves.

And she doesn’t go back.


End file.
